Presidential Pardons
The number of pardons granted by U.S. presidents since 1789
by Mark Hughes
Related Links |
U.S. presidents have wielded the power to issue pardons since it was granted to them in 1789 by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution. The number of pardons issued by a president has varied considerably. President George Washington issued 16 pardons between 1789 and 1797. Franklin D. Roosevelt granted the most— a jaw dropping 3,687 pardons. Roosevelt, however, is the only president to serve three terms—12 years—in office.
Two presidents did not grant any pardons during their administrations, William H. Harrison and James Garfield. Both men died soon after they became president, one month in the case of Harrison, who died of pneumonia, and six months in the case of Garfield, who was assassinated.
This table shows the number of pardons issued by every president from 1789 to the present.
| President (Term of office) | Number of Pardons | President (term of office) | Number of Pardons |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington (1789 to 1797) | 16 | Grover Cleveland (1885 to 1889, 1893 to 1897) | 1,107* |
| John Adams (1797 to 1801) | 21 | Benjamin Harrison (1889 to 1893) | 613 |
| Thomas Jefferson (1801 to 1809) | 119 | William McKinley (1897 to 1901) | 918* |
| James Madison (1809 to 1817) | 196 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901 to 1909) | 981* |
| James Monroe (1817 to 1825) | 419 | William H. Taft (1909 to 1913) | 758 |
| John Quincy Adams (1825 to 1829) | 183 | Woodrow Wilson (1913 to 1921) | 2,480 |
| Andrew Jackson (1829 to 1837) | 386 | Warren Harding (1921 to 1923) | 800 |
| Martin Van Buren (1837 to 1841) | 168 | Calvin Coolidge (1923 to 1929) | 1,545 |
| William H. Harrison (1841) | 0 | Herbert Hoover (1929 to 1933) | 1,385 |
| John Tyler (1841 to 1845) | 209 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 to 1945) | 3,687 |
| James K. Polk (1845 to 1849) | 268 | Harry Truman (1945 to 1953) | 2,044 |
| Zachary Taylor (1849 to 1850) | 38 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 to 1961) | 1,157 |
| Millard Fillmore (1850 to 1853) | 170 | John F. Kennedy (1961 to 1963) | 575 |
| Franklin Pierce (1853 to 1857) | 142 | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963 to 1969) | 1,187 |
| James Buchanan (1857 to 1861) | 150 | Richard Nixon (1969 to 1974) | 926 |
| Abraham Lincoln (1861 to 1865) | 343 | Gerald Ford (1974 to 1977) | 409 |
| Andrew Johnson (1865 to 1869) | 654 | Jimmy Carter (1977 to 1981) | 566 |
| Ulysses S. Grant (1869 to 1877) | 1,332 | Ronald Reagan (1981 to 1989) | 406 |
| Rutherford B. Hayes (1877 to 1881) | 893 | George H.W. Bush (1989 to 1993) | 77 |
| James Garfield (1881) | 0 | Bill Clinton (1993 to 2001) | 456 |
| Chester Arthur (1881 to 1885) | 337 | George W. Bush (2001 to 2009) | 176 |
| Barack Obama (2009 to 2017) | 64 |
*indicates estimate
Source: United States Department of Justice (USDOJ); University of Pittsburg, Jurist Legal Intelligence
- More from Government
